Like most programs, Ohio State signed what will end up being the majority of its 2019 recruiting class during the early signing period. The class didn’t get too much fanfare, but it’s still got some very key pieces that will be a big part of what the Buckeyes do in the next few years.
Here’s some thoughts on what Ohio State is brought in for the 2019 class when it’s all said and done. First, as a reminder, here’s the list of commitments that fired up the archaic Fax Machine to let the coaches know they are fully committed with the link to each’s 247Sports profile.
Next … The complete list
The complete 2019 commitment list for Ohio State
Zach Harrison, 5-Star DE, Lewis Center, Ohio
Garrett Wilson, 5-Star WR, Austin, Texas – Signed
Harry Miller, 5-Star OL, Buford, Georgia – Signed
Cade Stover, 4-Star LB, Mansfield, Ohio – Signed
Ronnie Hickman, 4-Star S, Wayne, New Jersey – Signed
Jameson Williams, 4-Star WR, St. Louis, Missouri – Signed
Steele Chambers, 4-Star ATH, Roswell, Georgia – Signed
Ryan Jacoby, 4-Star OL, Mentor, Ohio – Signed
Tommy Eichenberg, 4-Star LB, Cleveland, Ohio – Signed
Noah Potter, 4-Star DE, Mentor, Ohio – Signed
Enokk Vimahi, 4-Star OL, Kahuku, Hawaii – Signed
Marcus Crowley, 3-Star RB, Jacksonville, Florida – Signed
Bryson Shaw, 3-Star S, Potomac, Maryland – Signed
Craig Young, 3-Star ATH, Fort Wayne, Indiana – Signed
Cormontae Hamilton, 3-Start TE, Memphis, Tennessee – Signed
Jaden McKenzie, 3-Star DT, Wake Forest, North Carolina – Signed
Dawand Jones, 3-Star DT, Wake Forest, North Carolina – Signed
Next … The Doug Nester saga
The one that got away, Doug Nester
Doug Nester, 4-Star OL, Huntington, West Virginia
- Nester is was a hard verbal for Ohio State, but with the coaching transition he didn’t sign during the early period, then went on recruiting visits with “friends.” In the end he flipped and went to Virginia Tech. Still, Vimahi’s last minute closing deal by Ryan Day lessened the blow. It would have been nice to land him though since offensive-line was the biggest area of concern.
Additional Thoughts And Observations
- There’s just five kids from Ohio. However, Day is starting to bring offer and land kids (see Jack Sawyer) from Ohio early. It seems as though there will be a bigger effort to keep the best of Ohio in the Buckeye state going forward. But, we’ll see how it all plays out in future recruiting classes.
- To that end though, Ohio State will never go away from getting the best it can. It’ll still be a national brand. We saw that with Urban Meyer, and it’ll still continue, just with a little more Ohio ingrained going forward.
- In today’s day and age, you HAVE to include the transfers into the equation. Ohio State is somewhere around No. 13 or 14 on most recruiting services rankings for this class, but when you factor in the Justin Fields transfer — who by the way is probably better than any prospect in this class — that ranking would most likely vault into the top five.
- If you listened to the national media, and even the Big Ten Network, all you heard was the drop off Ohio State experienced in this class. If you know about the Buckeyes’ situation, that’s a false claim. Yeah, it’s only rated No. 13 in the 247Sports Composite Rankings, but let’s instead look at the average stars per commit.
Next … The real deal to focus on
Don’t lose sight of the truth
- And that’s the real thing to pay attention to. Michigan supposedly has the best class in the league with Penn State filing in line behind at second, but it Michigan signed 26 recruits and gets too much credit for the volume. Penn State signed 23 total. They are both still really good classes, but the top-end talent is better in Columbus.
- Still on that topic, Ohio State never expected to sign more than fifteen recruits during the early singing period. It is graduating a small class and doesn’t have enough available unless it oversigns a bunch of kids. It only added two more that brings the total scholarship players to 85, which is right where it has to be. So, for need, the Buckeyes did very well thank you.
- The staff only got one kid from Florida to commit. That might be most surprising note with the whole class. Urban Meyer and staff have had a pipeline down there ever since he got on campus.
- I can’t say enough about Ryan Day’s closing ability. He got in on Hawaii product Enokk Vimahi very, very late in the game and somehow wrestled him away from an almost sure commitment to USC. Unreal.
- OSU got better on the offensive-line, which was the main area of concern. It landed the two on National Signing Day, and had two committed through the early signing period with Harry Miller (center), and Ryan Jacoby (OT). There’s still more work to do, but that’s a good start.
Now it’s off to focus on the 2020 class, which by the way is shaping up to be a great class with momentum.
